ok i have took delivery of my 355 for awhile, so here are some of my impressions:- (i) as a sports car i think the steering is extremely light; (ii) when i take it to red line in the 2nd gear and up to 3rd gear, i can feel the car kinda "lift" up, not sure why (is it down force problem or aerodynamics), but only in hard core acceleration whereas other times even i take it over 150km/h or 180km/h, i dont have that kinda feeling? (iii) when i floor the accelerator i dont feel that "explosion" kinda feeling, may is becos its a NA car? (iv) sometimes when i floor the accelerator, lift off the accelerator press the clutch to change gear, somehow fuel still pump to the engine (despite i release the accelerator), any reason(s) for that? (iv) difficult changing into 3rd gear and reverse. pls feel free to contribute your thoughts and comments
1.) Power Assist - if you are used to no power - it will take a little getting used to - after a while I liked it better than my older F-cars. I do not track - so I didn't really miss much as some of the harder core guys. Something to look at though is your tires - if they are miss matched in brand from front to back or the front is newer than the back - you will get a little light feeling in the front or rear accordingly. 2.) Not sure about this one - I assume you have the suspension in Sport not Comfort (at that speed - it defaults anyway). If you are not use to rear engine - and that kind of tourque/hp you might get a little of this - you should not feel uncontrolled at all (which I assume you don't based on your saying "Kind" of a lift. 3.) It shouldn't feel like a supercharger kicking in - but you should feel a kick in the pant - especially between 4K and 8K. So if you are in first gear and just hanging around 3K and floor it - you should feel pretty good stuff. I might have them look at the vaccum lines, etc. During my engine out - I had 2 vaccum lines that were pinched due to the previous engine out - after the new service - I noticed a difference in performance. 4.) My guess on this - is that your clutch is pretty worn and going to need replaced - check out a thread from just about 1 year ago (via my user name - my clutch was just about shot - and doing similar things. It you are keeping RPMs after the clutch is depressed. (Also - make sure your floor mats are not interfering with the gas pedal - I know sounds dumb - but often happens and people don't realize). 5.) 2nd gear should be a little tough when cold - but fine after about 10 minutes or so. 3rd and Reverse - usually are not. If they are after they are warm - could be the clutch, could need a change of transmission oil, linkage, etc. (I am assuming this is a 6 speed). When they check the clutch have them take a look. That is my 2 cents - Get Rifledriver and some of the other real techs to have a read of this - they will give much better advice than I...
I had a nice blast on the german autobahn today and despite a lot of traffic I was able to find a free stretch to take it up to 260 km/h (with the top open). The car felt very stable. Maybe you get this feeling because the steering does not provide very good feedback; as you say, it's very light due to the power assist. The gears should not be heavy at all once the gearbox is warmed up, so there might be something wrong with that car.
thanks for the write-up after intense driving over the weekend, it seems that (2) is not reoccuring so i guess its more a physiological thing as i am not fimiliar with the chacteristics of a ferrari (this is my 1st f-car) in any event i am still not use to the light steering yet but i can feel that its a nicely balanced car again cant really feel that "explosion" in hard core accleration but i really enjoy taking it to the redline....just cant resist that screaming sound of the engine (4) still happens from time to time, i think i need take it to the shop for checking up! but i wanna ask a stupid question, when you acclerate do you floor the gas as soon as the clutch releases or do you press the gas gradually until its floored
i was doing 130km/h to 140 km/h on a highway this morning and i can feel the steering wheel was vibrating. what can be the possible causes? i just changed a set of new tyres (front & rear), new rotors and calipers (front only)!!! yes once the grearbox is warmed up shifting is not a problem but i still have problem shifting into reverse!!!!
I had similar experience with tire balancing on my 19" stock M3 wheels. Let someone rebalance your wheels with the Hunter GSP9700 tire balancer. You might have a tire which is out of round. Its very common to have a tire that was defective. The GSP machine has a road force variation option on it. A roller presses up against the tire and simulates the road force on the tire. The machine then is able to perfectly determine where the weights will go in order to have a perfectly balanced tire. I cant tell you how many Micheline Pilot Sport 2's that have been defective that I have seen. Make sure the technician knows what he is doing, the majority of them are morons. -Leo
In my 355 I noticed that I was not getting the kick anymore and it was hard to go into reverse.. I took it in and it was the clutch.. I also noticed the rpms would flucuate when shifting instead of being steady.. once the clutch was replaced it was back to throwing me in my seat.. Note: The 355 does not get off the line like a quarter mile car.. but when it is between 4k and 8k rpms shifting.. you can feel it respond.. Alot of first time F-car owners are not use to running cars at high rpms.. and run them at low rpms and wonder where that kick is!! Also make sure to have your oil temperature up at 190 before really getting on it.. it will save on your engine in the future!!
better not cos it will cost me a fortune to get it fixed..... actually i was thinking whether its a rotor issue cos after i changed my tyres (before i change my rotors) i dont have this problem
patrick, stand over them as they do the wheel weights again. also, have them check the alignment. my advice is go to IMSS for this. the other places i've seen are rubbish. i drove my car at 270kph going to china and did'nt have any vibration at all.
Dude...check your "pink slip"....does it have any printing on it that reads "Salvaged"???? =) Just kidding. Sounds like you have a few kinks to work out, best thing to do is take it to a very reputable & experienced mechanic. My hunch is that your clutch may need some adjusting or may have issues. As for the vibration....check the usual suspects: tires, balance, alignment, etc. My only previous sports-car experience was my fathers Pantera...he would shift that thing before it hit 3,500 rpm. Driving the 355 is almost like riding a 2-stroke dirtbike: you gotta keep this thing "on the pipe". That little 3.8 liter engine doesn't just sound like an F1 engine cause of some fancy exhaust tubing...the engine literally has a "power-band" and you'll have to learn to trust the engine to run up there. If you are cruising and wanna get on it....it's not uncommon to drop 2 gears BUT give it some R's so you slip into it nicely. These cars can sing...but ya gotta know how to play 'em! I notice is shifts better/smoother at higher rpm's. You'll get used to the steering...if you think it's soft, wait till ya try the 360!! Get the bugs out, find your grin
Regarding your 'lack of power/kick in pants' problem. Does your engine idle smoothly at tickover?? Reason I ask, is I had a slight power loss problem once, which was accompanied by a rough running at tickover. In the end I found a small gap/bad seal in the air intake sysem (I have a Bosch 5.2 355). Where the two intakes join in the middle... I need to post a picture so you guys can see... Once this was sealed, i.e. I tightened various clips etc, the power increase was massive and it idled perfectly. Ade
mine has only 12700km on the clock, so clutch wear issue never come across my mind but i guess i will have it checked or replaced anyway
sorry to have to say but that at 12,700 kms on the odometer , you ought not to have ANY wear issues on ANY car , let alone a Ferrari.
ok maybe i should be more specific i am the second owner of this 96 355 spyder, when i bought it in mid-Feb 05, it had only 12000km on the clock, so i guess this is a typical "garage queen", actually the car needed to be towed to the shop from the ex-owner's garage cos its "dead" maybe that should explain why i cant feel the speed just yet cos it might need some more driving to "loosen up" and back to "live" again!! i love taking it to the redline esp in 1st and 2nd gear, its simply irresistible...the speed....the sound...the enjoyment....wow its just awesome but then when it is close to the redline i can feel that it doesnt wanna go further, it seems like difficult to go any further!! i know there are a few things that needed to be fixed......but unfortunately i have not had enough driving of it yet (probably never will), so i guess i just have to live with these minor problems for the time being and get them fixed later. actually its suppose to be my weekend car and i suppose to drive my 993 to work everyday but guess what!! i am using the 355 as my daily driver now.....just never get enough of it!! to be honest i am so glad that i bought this car cos its giving so much fun!!! its just too good to be true
You are kidding right? Not knowing who the last owner was and how it was driven - does have a ton to do with "Wear Issues" - More specifically the Clutch. I have seen poor drivers go through clutches in 3K miles. Not to mention this car is nearly 10 years old - if no major service has been done - you have many age wear issues on the high compression hoses, belts, tires, etc. As an example - how safe would you feel going 150 MPH on tires that are 10 years old? Remember sometimes it is worse on these parts to let them sit in a garage than if they were driven 100K miles. This car should have been through 2 major engine out services by this point - regardless of miles...
I agree with Richard. anything rubber is prone to dry rot etc. I've seen abused cars go through clutches real fast not to mention drivers who dont know how to shift.
sorry , perhaps I am not reading this right , are we talking about a clutch problem here ? If we are , then I don't agree that there should be any any 'wear issues' with a clutch on a 'garage queen' car with 12,000 kms on the clock. For the imperial/metric people here , that kilometers , not miles. sure , rubber perishes over time. is your clutch made of rubber ?
